What type of discipline includes dismissal, demotion, or suspension from duty without pay?

• A. Informal counseling
• B. Formal Disciplinary Action (punitive)
• C. Administrative admonishment
• D. Corrective action plan

Answer: (B)

Disciplinary actions that carry real consequences to your job status and pay fall into formal, punitive discipline. Dismissal, demotion, or suspension without pay are penalties imposed to address serious misconduct or performance failures and usually involve due process. They’re distinct from informal counseling, which is for minor issues and isn’t part of a formal record; administrative admonishment, which is a formal reprimand but not followed by loss of pay; and a corrective action plan, which focuses on clearly defined steps to improve performance and does not itself suspend or remove pay or duties. So the best fit for those scenarios is formal disciplinary action (punitive).